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| Self Publishing Awright, I've been doing this for a long time and my memory sucks - I may have covered this before, but then again I might not have. Either way, here it tis: The State of Self Publishing: The Cliff Notes Version
Unfortunately the American comic book market is very different
now than it was in 1984, when the "Black and White Explosion"
started, thanks to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's "Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles" success story. In fact, things are
worse now then they were back around 1992, when alla that Image/Valiant/Wizard
stuff got a jillion new fans involved with comics. In those days,
a few self-published books actually made a foothold into the market. The good news is, things are better now than they've been for the past 5 or 6 years. Some folks are actually selling enough copies of their self-published stuff to make money! It's TRUE! Yeah, it's still rare and usually what money there is ain't nothing to crow about (you could make much more cash deep frying potatoes at the local Mickey Dees), but it can be done. That is a very good sign for the industry, ladies and gentlemen. Still, it remains a nigh impossible goal for a B&W comic that features unknown characters to be a "hit." In fact, many cartoonists who are doing well in indy comics began their strips in some other media, such as magazines or as internet comics ("Knights of the Dinner Table," "Dork Tower" and "PVP" the most notable). Trying to launch a comic book featuring characters that no one has heard of is like trying to get Todd McFarlane to talk in the first person. Hey...mebbe it's possible... More troubles. Back in the day, there were ten comic book distributors. Today there is one major (Diamond) and a few minors (FM, Cold Cut, Last Gasp, and some others), due to all kinds of shiznit that can't possibly be discussed in a Cliff Notes version. Typically in today's market, a B&W comic sells under 1000 copies, so making a profit is difficult to say the least. I've heard that there's only 500 comic shops on the entire freakin' planet that order B&W comics... so you can see why the numbers are so low. Comics are just now having an oh-so-very-minor-yet-hopeful recovery from all-time the low sales of the past half decade. Some people think that comic books will cease to exist within the next 10 years, due to attrition of the fan base. I find it hard to argue that point as children no longer buy comic books, and older readers are leaving the hobby via death or taxes... so it's a dire situation, kiddies... and dire situations do not treat the independent business kindly. However, sales ARE up and some cats ARE breaking even or making money... and there's apparently a secret to this. Ya gotta do one of 2 things: 1) Do prestige format, all-in-one packages instead of individual issues (i.e. graphic novels or fancy schmancy one shots). Sales will be lower, but your per unit price will be much higher, thus your profitability and marketability are increased. Plus, GNs offer ya the chance to get into real live book stores if ya spring for those pesky ISBN numbers. The downside to this is ya gotta work hard to promote the book, seeing as you've got alla yer eggs in one basket. 2) Do 3 issue mini-series (The Hellboy Strategy) This works for two reasons. Firstly, Diamond will usually cancel a title that doesn't sell 1,000 copies after 3 issues - so by doing a 3 issue mini-series you circumvent this problem. Secondly, more people are apt to buy a mini-series these days because they figure they'll get a complete story. Since so many B&W titles fold before the story is told, fewer and fewer readers are picking them up. But if said readers know that the story is intended to be told in 3 books, you'll be grabbing a bigger readership than ya might with an ongoing series. Now o' course these strategies are by no means guaranteed - but in a hostile world ya gotta grab whatever advantage you can get, so consider these points seriously if you plan to self publish. I advise alla you potential self-pubbers to start a web site and post your comics online. If you're able to build a fan base this way, you'll be better prepared to sell a comic book later. Scott Kurtz over at www.pvponline.com has had success due to establishing a huge web audience before doing his comic. The best thing about doing a web site is it's much cheaper than publishing a handful of issues (at least initially). A site gives you a shot at building a fan base before you risk your big bucks on a printing bill. It also allows you to test the waters for your concept - if the site takes off (this could take a year or two), you know you've got a winner. In conclusion to this rambling and woefuly inadequate Cliff Note, as I always say: nothing ventured, nothing gained... so the choice is yours. Good night, and be careful out there. |
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